I am pretty sure you've heard or read by now, hopefully you saw it happen, that the Hogs had one pinkie holding on to the cliff edge of elimination from the College World Series when they managed to climb themselves back into the game and go on to win it in dramatic fashion in the 12th, 4-3 over Virginia. Moral Orel Hershisher and Mike Patrick had already declared the player of the game to be from Virginia. They were at the point of saying how the Hogs should still be proud of their season and what an amazing thing it was that they had made it to this point, yadda yaddda yadda, when Eibner knocked one out of the park with a man on first, and suddenly it was a new game.

I admit that I haven't paid baseball all that much attention in years, being more of a football and basketball fan, but I have suddenly gained back my old respect for it with this run the Hogs have made this season. I also realize just what a sadistic game it can be as I think about Virginia packing up for home. They were just one out away. They had opportunity after opportunity and couldn't get any of those many base runners home.

As the Hogs kept getting themselves in tight situations in the 10th, 11th, and 12th, but kept coming back, I thought I might see Matt Jones and Houston Nutt suddenly appear in the dug out, for it reminded me of the seven overtime games that they played against Ole Miss and Kentucky. Different sport, but the same display of not losing your cool and coming through in clutch moments. And both give action to the words that appropiately end our fight song, "Fight, Fight, Fight."

Now it is on to another fight with LSU on Friday where I hope we do have more fight in us than the last 9-1 performance. I think we will, for as someone once said, tomorrow is another day, and the Hogs have shown that they don't want to go easily with the wind from Omaha. But whatever comes of it, Dave Van Horn and Company, know that we here at Razorbackexpats, soon-to-be Arkansas Expats, are proud of the way you've represented us this season. Thanks for giving us so much to cheer for and about. Go Hogs!

A swing and a miss, a swing and a miss, another swing and a miss, that pretty much describes the Razorbacks last night against LSU's Coleman who lived up to his SEC pitcher of the year billing and defeated the Razorbacks once again this season. He didn't exactly limit the Hogs to two hits like the previous outing in Fayetteville, but it mattered little because the Hogs were giving up home runs and just runs left and right in a 9-1 defeat.

That end result puts LSU in a good place to reach the championship bracket. The Hogs will have to defeat Virginia on Wednesday night and then beat LSU twice. All LSU has to do is win one more game against either us or Virginia. In the CWS, you really are in the driver's seat if you win those first two games. The ESPN stat of the night that I saw as I was watching the Hogs go out with a whimper is that 17 of the last 19 champions won their first two games. Ouch.

The Hogs will have to battle against two good baseball teams and some stiff odds to get to the championship bracket. I am not counting them out, but I can't count them "in" as much as I could before Coleman got his claws into them. I am pretty sure Dave Van Horn is going to be heard uttering these words a lot today, "One game at a time, men." If the Hogs start thinking too far ahead about the hill they have to climb, they'll psych themselves out of it for sure. For both Arkansas and Virginia, a lot depends upon which team has the best psychologist as coach.

I think a lot of Hog fans were not feeling too good about this game going into it. And I think a lot of us were thinking the same thing, "Uh Oh, an SEC team." That's been the trend this year in all three major sports. We've done well in out of conference play, but have struggled with our fellow SEC brethern. I also was not feeling good in the gut about Eibner at the mound. That feeling got confirmed, unfortunately, from the get-go. Forrest put in some good innings, and you have to wonder if he had started and the Tigers hadn't gotten ahead so quickly so early things might have gone differently, or at least not as badly.

I am off to watch on youtube London Crawford catching that pass from Casey Dick. After a night of too much going right for the purple and gold, I think it is just the pick me up I need.

Has it really been twenty years since the Hogs won a College World Series game? Such is what the baseball numbers say. They also say, thank goodness, that the Hogs won't be two and done this year in Omaha. Congratulations go out to Dave Van Horn and Company for picking up a 10-6 win over favored Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. 1979 team, consider yourself AVENGED! for now.

Of the four winners over the weekend, I think the Hogs actually had the easiest time of reaching the winners' bracket. And in that bracket they now will face another favored team, LSU. Considering that number one, LSU is a really good team, and number two, Arkansas lost a series to the Tigers in Fayetteville earlier in the year, I am nervous. On the other hand, there is no denying that the Hogs are sizzling hot right now, and they did get one win in Fayetteville during that LSU series. I don't know enough about baseball to break things down and give anything that resembles analysis.

But I do know enough about sports superstition that come tonight when I sit down to watch the game, I will wear the same Razorback shirt I had on Saturday and will continue my practice of watching the Hogs bat, but switching channels when the other team comes to bat and then just allowing myself glimpses of what is going on. Hey, it worked on Saturday, haha. I would twirl a dead chicken over my head and stand on one leg if I thought it would help the Hogs. I certainly would like to see the Hogs channel the good fortune that came over War Memorial Stadium back in November when Casey Dick and London Crawford connected for a win over a favored LSU team. Maybe some Arkansas fans should go out to War Memorial tonight and watch the game there?

One final note, I see where Texas (spit) advanced a step closer to the prospect of facing the Hogs in the Championship bracket. Considering that Texas (spit) struggled to beat Southern Miss. and won only by taking four balls to advance the runners in the bottom of the 9th as the Southern Miss. bullpen choked, I like the Hogs's propsects, but of course, a lot more still has to happen. First, just beat the hell out of those Tigers! Go Hogs!